Let Them Talk
by Cheeseburger of Doom
Summary: They've become the best of friends, and he doesn't want to let anything ruin that -- especially not his feelings. [izumixfukawa]


A/N: I had to write this because I needed them to get together. I just…did. My first attempt at fic for them ended in friendship only; let's at least get them to kiss! Grr!  
  
(once again, Izumi and Fukawa are the pair from Gyoukurin who actually got some screen time. Izumi is the one with the spiky two-tone hair and the choker; Fukawa's the one with the long hair.)

Let Them Talk!

It didn't really bother Fukawa that his old crowd didn't like him anymore -- he had Izumi, and that was all that really mattered. Izumi was a better friend than they had ever been, because Izumi knew how to have fun. Izumi wasn't an arrogant, narrow-minded bastard -- he was arrogant, sure, but mostly about tennis.

Fukawa didn't care that he didn't have a huge crowd of friends in high school. He didn't care that he spent most of his free time with one other person -- as long as that person was Izumi.

Those kinds of thoughts were starting to worry Fukawa, though -- he had been acting a bit lovesick of late. He could recognize the signs; he'd seen them before. If he wasn't careful, Izumi was going to find out, and then things would get really weird.

It didn't help that Izumi was weirdly possessive. If he saw Fukawa talking to one of the people he used to be friends with, he would storm over and glare at that person until they went away. It didn't matter if they were discussing homework, or if they'd accidentally bumped into each other -- Izumi would get rid of them, anyway. Sometimes he acted just like a jealous boyfriend, and Fukawa couldn't resist teasing him -- the truth was more likely to come out at a time like that.

Once, he'd even said "I don't want to lose you to them, again." Fukawa had been more than a little touched, and he'd almost kissed the guy -- and then he'd realized that guy just happened to be his best friend, and friends weren't really supposed to do that kind of thing with one another.

"Why do you spend so much time with that guy?"

Fukawa had just been cornered by one of the people he disliked the most; one of the people he'd been "friends" with before he and Izumi had decided to stop ignoring each other off the tennis courts.

"He's my friend," Fukawa replied. "You're not. What's so hard to understand?"

"You two are gay, aren't you?"

"What the hell kind of a question is that?" Fukawa demanded. "Get out of my way." Fukawa was strong, and he knew that -- he backed off, but with a sneer on his face.

"That just proves me right."

Fukawa made no reply to that. The bastard wasn't worth his time.

"I think people are starting to talk about us," Fukawa said. He felt guilty; pretty soon, Izumi's reputation was going to be ruined because of him.

"How?"

Fukawa told him about the incident of that afternoon. "He hates me for making him look bad."

"How did you make him look bad?"

"I started ignoring him." Fukawa shrugged. "Anyway, he might start harassing you, or me, or both."

"So what?"

"Rumors will spread."

"Let them talk, I don't care. Do you?"

"Not really, actually." Since it was the truth on Fukawa's part -- he was attracted to Izumi, he couldn't help it.

"They had a real problem with gays, didn't they? Your old friends."

"Yeah."

"Do you?"

Not since he'd discovered that he was one. "No, I don't."

"Good."

There was a strange feeling in the air. This was not a comfortable topic. Fukawa decided it was time to change the subject -- but he couldn't think of anything to change it to. All he could think about was how much at that moment he wanted to admit to everything -- even at the risk of their friendship.

He couldn't risk that, though. It was the most important thing he had.

"Are you angry that I asked?" Izumi finally broke the silence; apparently couldn't bear it any longer.

"No. It's just…strange," Fukawa admitted. "We don't usually talk about serious things."

"Nothing like that, anyway. Well, let's forget it, then. I need help with my math homework."

Fukawa was only too happy to help; it meant being close to Izumi for a little while, at least.

"I can't believe we're already halfway through the second year of high school," Izumi said. He and Fukawa were in Fukawa's room studying. "Only one more year after this, and then we're free."

"Not really. There will be more school, or work; and after that, work for the rest of our lives," Fukawa said.

"Thank you for spoiling my mood."

"Don't mention it."

"What are you planning to do once it's over?" Izumi asked. "Go to some smart ass school and become famous?"

"I'll be on TV one day, just wait."

"Oh yeah?"

"I'll have my own show."

"Well, then I can tell people I used to know that guy!" Izumi laughed. "And none of them will believe me! Or else they won't care."

"Of course they'll care, I'll be famous! Well, maybe you won't have to say it, because we'll still be bothering each other by then."

"I hope so!" When Izumi said things like that, with just that smile, Fukawa wanted to -- stop thinking like that. Izumi was just joking, anyway.

"Shit. I broke it."

Fukawa looked up from his homework to see Izumi scowling at his now-broken choker.

"Is it that much of a tragedy?"

"Well, how the hell do I fix it?"

"I don't know. Is it from an old girlfriend or something?" Fukawa hoped he didn't sound as jealous as he felt. That would definitely be suspicious.

"No, nothing like that. It's my favorite. I think it makes me look sexy." Izumi grinned.

"Let me see it," Fukawa said. "Maybe I can fix it so you can re-inflate your ego. I wouldn't want you to lose the only thing that redeems your looks."

"Bastard."

"Asshole. Let me see."

Izumi handed over the choker, and Fuakwa looked at the clasp. "Yeah, you broke it. I'll ask my mom if she can fix it. She's good with this kind of stuff."

"Thanks. I'm going to feel naked without it, though."

Fukawa tried not to picture Izumi naked; that was really indecent of him. "Find a replacement, then."

"It would get jealous. I'll wait until it's fixed."

"I wouldn't want you to wander around naked." Fukawa rummaged around in his desk drawer, until he located a choker that was similar to Izumi's. He'd never worn it; one of his girl cousins had given it to him, and said that it would look really "pretty" on him. Naturally, he hadn't wanted to even touch the thing after that.

"Here," he said, and he tied it around Izumi's neck. He realized that was a bad idea only after he'd begun; his fingers were brushing against the skin of Izumi's neck, and he wondered what it would be like to kiss there, and maybe bite a little, and --

"Thanks," Izumi said again. "I think I actually like this one better. Can I keep it?"

"Sure, I'll never wear it."

"Thanks again!"

"I'll still get my mom to fix yours, since it's your favorite and all."

"Well, if she does, then you can keep it."

"People will really start talking if we have almost matching chokers," Fukawa said, with a forced laugh.

"Like I said before, let them talk. They don't know anything about us, anyway, so what gives them the right to pretend they know what's going on?"

At that time, Fukawa wondered -- what did Izumi really think of him?

Fukawa started noticing little things that should have been obvious from the start. When they touched -- even if it was just brushing shoulders, or their elbows bumping together -- Izumi jumped away even as Fukawa did. Sometimes, Izumi started saying things and didn't finish -- when Fukawa actually thought about it, those things had a similar pattern every time. Little things like that were popping up everywhere -- and Fukawa was starting to have some hope.

If it was true, then Fukawa had been wasting a lot of time. He decided that he was going to have to act on his suspicions or go crazy.

Fukawa didn't know how to admit his feelings to another guy. Actually, he didn't even know how to admit his feelings to a girl, since he'd never bothered to accept any of the confessions from girls that he'd gotten. They'd all been such catty bitches, since they'd belonged to his crowd -- the nicer girls tended to be afraid of him…

In any case, he had a problem; how to let Izumi knew what was going on in his mind without ruining their friendship.

It was a difficult task. Every time he tried to say something, he chickened out. Fukawa Kimiyoshi had somehow turned into a complete coward. It was frustrating. It was humiliating. It was --

"Is something wrong? You've been acting weird lately," Izumi said. They were in Fukawa's room, doing homework -- as usual. Later they would go out to the street courts and play some tennis, as was their tradition. They did it almost every night. Sometimes they even ran into Momoshiro and Echizen, who still came out to bug them once in a while. Those two were the reason that Izumi and Fukawa had almost lost what little friendship they'd possessed in the beginning -- but that was also the reason that they were such good friends now.

"Nothing is wrong," Fukawa said. He was only a cowardly moron who couldn't even admit something to the guy he was lusting after, who he suspected was lusting after him --

"Are you sure?"

"No." This was it. This was his chance. He was really going to go through with it this time, damn it all! "I've had something on my mind, actually."

"What?"

"I'll show you instead of telling you," Fukawa said. Maybe it would be easier with actions than words -- and now that he'd peaked Izumi's curiosity he had to do something. He moved over to the bed, which Izumi was sprawled across on his stomach. He knelt down on the floor until his face was within inches of Izumi's --

"Don't hate me for this, if I'm wrong," he said, and then he kissed him. He kissed his best friend of a few years as he had never kissed anyone before. (Actually, he really hadn't kissed anyone before, so it was a little strange at first -- but he got the hang of it. Especially when Izumi started kissing back.)

When they paused for breath, Fukawa found himself grinning very stupidly. "Does this mean I was right?"

"What about?"

"That I've been an idiot all this time, and we could have been doing this a lot sooner if only I'd opened my mouth?"

"Yeah. Of course, I'm just as stupid, so I guess it doesn't matter." Izumi was grinning just as stupidly, and Fukawa felt all of his worries dissolve. He stood, and was going to help Izumi off the bed -- it was almost time to go to the street courts after all -- but Izumi pulled him down on the bed.

He wasn't unhappy about being on top of Izumi, but he was afraid that if they started making out now, they'd never stop. "Don't you want to go play tennis?" he asked.

"Tennis can wait. I think we should practice other things, right now."

Well, skipping tennis for one night wouldn't hurt. Fukawa would much rather spend the evening practicing how to kiss with the love of his life, anyway.

"People are really whispering about us today."

"That's because you didn't bother to hide the giant hickey."

"I like it."

"Yeah, I know you do. That's why I put it there. You don't need to show it off, though, do you?"

"Why not? I'm proud of it. How many times do I have to say it? Just let them talk. It'll make their lives more interesting. Besides, this time they'd be right."

"You're impossible."

"That's why you love me, isn't it?"

"Maybe."


End file.
